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Chapter 186 The character collapses
"Mom, I've arrived. Don't worry, the journey was very smooth."

Fu Xiaofeng looked down and sent a message to his mother on WeChat.

His mother quickly replied with a voice message: "It's good that you've arrived. It's good that you've arrived. Are you all alone?"

Faced with his mother's question, Fu Xiaofeng was a little confused: "Of course it's just me, who else could it be?"

“How would I know? For example… a beautiful blonde girl? Hehe!” Mom even couldn’t help but laugh at the end of her voice message.

Fu Xiaofeng was utterly exasperated: "Mom, what are you thinking?!"

“What am I thinking? Your son suddenly said he wanted to go back to France early, and he wouldn't tell your father or me why. What else could it be but going on a date with some girl? Hey, I know what you're up to! You must not have won her over yet, that's why you don't dare tell us. But don't worry, your mother won't put pressure on you... Why don't you send me a picture first, I promise I won't let your father see it..." (Note 1)

Hearing his mother's accented dialect, Fu Xiaofeng was both amused and exasperated: "Mom, you have quite the imagination! My return to France isn't what you think!"

"Then why did you go back? Didn't you tell us that the club's reporting date for the new season was July 4th? June isn't even over yet, and you're already rushing back. You have to have a reason, right? Don't tell me you went back to training!" (Note 2)

Fu Xiaofeng typed furiously on his phone screen, typing and deleting text repeatedly until finally he sighed, deleted all the explanations, and replaced them with:

"Just pretend I went on a date..."

"What do you mean 'asking'? Aren't you embarrassed? Let me tell you, Fu Xiaofeng, you're thirty-two and still a single dog. What do you want? All you do is flirt with those little girls, 'Nana' and 'Lulu'. You're a big star athlete, you have money and fame, and you can't even find a girl?!"

What "Nana" and "Lulu"? Those are "Golden Princess Lilina" and "Comet General Rune"... No matter how rich or famous your son is, if he can't get them, he just can't get them!
Besides, you have plenty of sons and wives, but they're all just two-dimensional characters. If you really want me to bring a wife home, then I can only bring a life-size character portrait or a body pillow to meet you...

Fu Xiaofeng thought to himself, but he didn't dare to say it out loud, otherwise his mother would immediately bombard him with "60-second voice messages".

"Okay, okay, I'll try my best to find a partner soon, and I'll definitely live up to your and Dad's expectations!" Fu Xiaofeng could only reply perfunctorily.

Then his mother sent another voice message, which was more than 30 seconds long, but Fu Xiaofeng did not open it.

He lowered his hand holding the phone, looked up, and surveyed his apartment in Lille, which was almost unchanged from when he left a month ago.

The windows are bright and the tables are clean, as tidy as new.

This is the effect of him having his agent hire a cleaning company to clean the house in advance.

He can rest directly after a long journey.

But now he doesn't want to rest; instead, he feels a bit regretful.

Why the hell did I impulsively come back early?
They were doing just fine in China, and then, out of sheer boredom, they came back to train extra...

He even gets misunderstood by his own mother as having another woman on the side!

Not only did his own parents not know why he suddenly returned to France early, but he also didn't dare to tell his real reason when he asked his agent to help contact a cleaning company to clean the house.

He was afraid his agent would think he had been possessed...

After all, Fu Xiaofeng never did extra training before. Whether at the club or the national team, once he finished the training tasks assigned by the coach, he wouldn't linger on the training field or in the gym for even a minute longer than necessary, just like a working ox strictly adhering to an eight-hour workday.

Overtime? Overtime is impossible, absolutely impossible in my life!

I'd rather use that time to binge-watch more anime series, chat and joke around with fellow fans online...

If that's the case, then why is Fu Xiaofeng in Lille's apartment at this moment?
Fu Xiaofeng put his suitcase aside and slowly sat down on the sofa.

China ultimately secured a resounding 4-0 victory over North Korea away from home. Judging solely from the score, one might think the Chinese team played quite well. However, those who watched the entire match might agree that while the Chinese team's first half wasn't particularly impressive, their performance improved dramatically after Wang Lie's goal, and they completely dominated the second half.

If you only watch the first 30 minutes of the game, Fu Xiaofeng can already imagine how much the media and fans will criticize him and his teammates after the game ends.

Of course, since the final score was 4-0, the focus of the post-match discussion shifted to whether head coach He Zhenyong's insistence on training the players during the game was questionable, and the players' performance on the field became insignificant.

Even when some people mentioned the players' poor performance, most expressed understanding. After all, it was a new tactic, and the training time was too short. It could be said that the head coach rushed the players into action, which led to the poor performance in the first thirty minutes.

If anyone is to be held responsible, it should be head coach He Zhenyong, not any particular player.

They were just following the head coach's instructions, so what's the problem?

The players can easily hide behind these public opinions and clear themselves of any wrongdoing. And we can believe that once they increase their training time and fully integrate the tactics, they can perform like they did in the second half.

Fu Xiaofeng didn't know if his other teammates could do it, but he felt he might not be able to...

In fact, his mood remained low after the match ended.

Indeed, he delivered a brilliant assist to Chi Zhen during the match, just like he has done countless times before.

However, such an assist cannot erase or offset the mistakes he made in this game.

For example, when he drops back to the defensive midfield position, he loses possession too often—not that he can't hold onto the ball, but quite the opposite. Dropping back allows him to use his footwork to enhance China's ball control in the midfield and backfield. After all, he plays as an attacking midfielder, who faces tighter defense and requires more time and space to receive the ball.

The situations where he lost possession actually occurred when the Chinese team transitioned from defense to attack and passed the ball forward. He tends to take more risky approaches to handling the ball, such as through balls.

This is actually his playing style and habit; he often does this when he's in the attacking midfield position.

However, attacking midfielders do need this adventurous approach to ball handling and thinking, and everyone can tolerate the result of losing possession due to such risks.

Anyway, even if he loses possession of the ball, other teammates, such as Su Ju, will help him get it back.

However, if they succeed, they can directly tear apart the opponent's defense and potentially lead to a goal.

This style of play is very risky, but also very rewarding.

But this has always been Fu Xiaofeng's style. Compared to a conservative but safe style of play, he prefers adventurous and aggressive football.

His scoring methods mostly involve long-range shots from outside the penalty area, which, while not guaranteeing a high success rate, result in spectacular goals whenever they do go in.

Because he loses possession more often by playing like this, but at the same time often creates memorable moments, some fans have nicknamed him "Meng Ge" – jokingly referring to his tendency to make a wild guess when passing or shooting.

This style isn't really a major flaw for an attacking midfielder – of course it prevents him from becoming one of the world's top midfield maestros – but Fu Xiaofeng didn't aspire to that level anyway.

With his current ability, he is perfectly suited to be a key player and midfielder for a team that is a favorite to win the French Ligue 1 title, and he can participate in European competitions every season.

It can be said that before Chi Zhen went to the Scottish team, he was the number one Chinese player after Wang Lie.

Fu Xiaofeng, 32 years old this year, has been playing for Lille for eight years.

When he was 24, his first overseas training camp was at Atlético Lille. He gradually rose from a substitute to a rotation player, and then to a starter and a key player.

Two years ago, at the age of thirty, he signed a five-year contract with Atlético Lille, which will expire when he turns thirty-five. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this should be his last professional contract in European football.

If he doesn't retire after fulfilling his duties, he should return to China to play football, just like Chu Yu, the current vice-captain of the national team.

Although he didn't achieve the same brilliant results as Wang Lie at Lille, he still helped Lille win three Ligue 1 titles, two French Cup titles, and one Europa League runner-up title.

In terms of honors, he deserves the title of "China's number one player after Wang Lie".

He is not a world-class midfielder, but he can be considered one of the top midfielders in Europe.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the idea of ​​replacing Wang Lie as the leader of the Chinese team. His club performance and achievements were his source of confidence.

Although he doesn't enjoy extra training and pushing himself as much as Wang Lie, and his leisure life is more colorful than Wang Lie's, it absolutely doesn't mean he's a good-for-nothing.

Therefore, while the media may not mention his poor performance in the game and the fans may not care, Fu Xiaofeng himself cannot ignore it.

He was well aware of his problems in this match, and these problems weren't just about his playing habits, but also about his physical condition and defense.

These problems were just minor issues when he only played as an attacking midfielder.

Now, with the change in position and the heavier responsibilities, these small problems have been magnified.

The national team's new tactics require him to cover a larger area, constantly running, receiving passes, and orchestrating the midfield between the attacking and defensive lines. This places higher demands on his physical fitness.

His defensive duties were present but not particularly heavy in both his club and national team roles.

Everyone knows what type of player he is and how to use him properly—no head coach would expect Fu Xiaofeng to engage in physical battles with opposing players in midfield, turning from an elegant organizer into a "meat grinder."

Even with the new tactics, national team head coach He Zhenyong's main requirement for him in defense is simply to "hold his position."

Fu Xiaofeng himself felt that this was not enough.

So after the match, he decided to end his vacation in China early and return to the club for extra training.

He even booked his plane ticket, had his agent hire a cleaning company to clean his apartment, and told his family that he was going back to Lille early.

His parents were quite surprised at the time, not understanding why he was suddenly leaving early, but they didn't ask any questions. Now Fu Xiaofeng realizes that they thought he was going back to France to meet his lover in secret...

However, even if his parents had asked him at the time, Fu Xiaofeng would not have told the truth.

Not only did he not tell his parents, but Fu Xiaofeng also did not tell anyone else about it.

Because if word gets out, his public image will be completely ruined!

That genius Fu Xiaofeng is actually going to secretly give me extra training?!

Of course, the collapse of his public image wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was that Fu Xiaofeng didn't want people to think that he would actually risk his life for Wang Lie's dream, and he didn't want Wang Lie to think so either...

In fact, when the national team disbanded after the match, he could clearly sense that the atmosphere within the team had changed.

Most people's hearts seem to have already flown to the World Cup a year from now—which is understandable, since they only need to win one more game to qualify.

What's abnormal is that most players, when looking forward to next year's World Cup, seem ready to go all out.

Perhaps that man was right. Before, every time they participated in the World Cup, it seemed they lacked a clear goal and strong motivation. They participated simply for the sake of participating, as if simply qualifying for the World Cup was the ultimate objective.

But what's the problem? We didn't participate in the World Cup until 2006, and we missed it once in 2010. We've only been able to participate in the World Cup consistently for seven editions.

Within Asia, Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Saudi Arabia all have a longer history of participating in the World Cup than we do, so who else is going to win the World Cup?

It's not that he doesn't crave the championship, nor that he's lost his ideals and is no different from a salted fish. He believes he's simply more down-to-earth and understands that things take time and Rome wasn't built in a day.

Winning the World Cup is a goal that requires many generations of hard work and perseverance to achieve.

Fu Xiaofeng believes that football is a sport where predecessors plant trees and successors enjoy the shade.

If he were Wang Lie, he would set the goal of winning the World Cup, but he wouldn't say that it had to be me who achieved it.

The saying goes, "Success doesn't have to be achieved by me, but I will definitely be a part of it."

He believes this is the way to truly consider Chinese football, while Wang Lie's behavior seems more like he's trying to show off by holding the whole team hostage.

You think you can make everyone stronger in just one year?
What if you announced this goal when you were 23 or 24? What if you spent ten or even more than ten years getting everyone to grow and become stronger with you?
A group of like-minded people with different personalities are united by you, the captain, on the road to achieving their dream of winning the World Cup. They experience twists and turns along the way, but in the end, they fight together until the very last moment... Even if they ultimately fail to achieve their dream, isn't such a story exciting and compelling?
Instead of what we're doing now, using a commanding tone and coercive methods to force everyone onto your chariot, and giving them only a year to realize your crazy idea.

Do you think everyone is like you, able to ignore all objective disadvantages and subjective laziness, and turn themselves into a ruthless training machine?
Chinese media and fans always like to feign sentimentality, saying things like, "It's gratifying that Chinese football has a Wang Lie, but tragic that Chinese football only has one Wang Lie"...

Every time Fu Xiaofeng sees something like this, he really wants to yell back:

Nonsense! If you guys who say this were to train like Wang Lie for a year, I'd swear I'd eat shit while doing a handstand on live stream if you could even last that long!

Is it that easy for a top superstar to emerge?

We should be content with having one; do we expect everyone to be like Wang Lie?

Seriously, if a team were full of demanding players like Wang Lie, they'd disband in a heartbeat. They'd be utterly incapable of winning, just getting thrashed. And viewers might even witness some hilarious infighting among the teammates during the live broadcast…

But he can only say these things to himself. If he were to actually argue with fans and the media online, he would be in big trouble and might even have to say goodbye to the national team.

Since he has so much dissatisfaction with Wang Lie's actions, why does he still risk ruining his public image by secretly running back to the club to train extra?
Because if he doesn't perform well under the new tactical system, he will really be taken down by Coach He.

He couldn't understand why Coach He was also going crazy along with Wang Lie.

Wang Lie is doing this because next year's World Cup is his last chance. Coach He, what are you after?
He didn't care about Wang Lie's grand goal, but if everyone else could keep their positions under the new tactical system, but he couldn't, wouldn't that be "awkward for whoever is missing"?
Fu Xiaofeng leaned back, sinking completely into the soft, comfortable sofa, and then let out a long sigh.

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Note 1: "Watou'er" is a dialect term used to refer to younger generations, but it usually carries a sense of helplessness and teasing.

"老汉儿" is a dialect word meaning "father".

Note 2: "Pupa gendou" is a dialect word meaning to rush around in a hurry, tumbling and crawling.

(End of this chapter)